


Madison Abigail Gates

by Myrle16



Category: National Treasure (Movies)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:08:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24280348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Myrle16/pseuds/Myrle16
Summary: The story of Nation Treasure told from the point of view of Ben's younger sister.
Relationships: Abigail Chase/Benjamin Franklin Gates, Riley Poole/Original Female Character
Comments: 3
Kudos: 5





	1. Legends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Madison Abigail Gates - 18 months younger than Ben. Named after president James Madison and First Lady - Abigail Adams. (Played by Landry Allbright)

“This is a bad idea Ben. Dad’s gonna be really mad.” 

“Then stay here Madi. I’ll go get it and bring it back.” 

The whispered conversation between the siblings was nearly overshadowed by the crashing of the storm outside. Watching with a frown, then jumping when a particularly loud crash of thunder shook the house, the young girl looked down the hallway before scampering up the attic stairs after her brother. 

Ducking behind a large shelf, she watched her brother quietly unfold a step ladder and climb to the top. Just as he reached the top, a large shadow passed her and she watched as her grandpa silently moved to stand behind her brother. Without saying a word, she laughed when Ben turned around and gasped, scared by the ‘sudden appearance’ of the man behind him. 

“Grandpa!” he cried out, dropping his flashlight. 

The man in question’s voice filled the attic. 

“You’re not supposed to be up here, looking at that -.” he paused to look over at Madison. “Either of you.” he added with a smile before looking back at Ben. 

“Don’t tell dad, please grandpa.” Madison said softly as she stepped out from behind the shelf. 

“We just wanted to know.” Ben added, locking gazes with his grandpa. 

“Well, you’re old enough, I suppose.” the man said after a moment of silence. “You should know the story.” 

Exchanging an excited look, Ben and Madi scrambled towards a nearby bench and their grandpa sat on a chair in front of them. Watching the excitement dance across their faces, the old man sighed and said; 

“Ok. Here we go. It was 1832, on a night much like this. Charles Carroll was the last surviving signer of the Declaration of independence. He was also a member of a secret society known as the Masons. And, he knew he was dying. He woke up his stable boy in the middle of the night and ordered him to take him to the White House, to see Andrew Jackson, because it was urgent that he speak to the president.” 

“Did he talk to him?” Ben asked, interrupting his grandpa and getting a sharp elbow to the ribs from his sister. 

“Shh Ben. Let grandpa finish.” Madi hissed at her brother. 

Their grandpa smiled and shook his head, going back to the story; 

“No. He never got the chance. The president wasn’t there that night, but Charles Carroll had a secret. So, he took into his confidence the one person he could, my grandfather’s grandfather, Thomas Gates.” 

“What was the secret?” Ben and Madi’s voices asked as one. 

“A treasure.” their grandpa replied, leaning closer to the children. “A treasure beyond all imagining. A treasure that had been fought over for centuries, by tyrants, pharaohs, emperors, warlords. And every time it changed hands, it grew larger. And then suddenly -” he snapped his fingers, startling the kids. “It vanished. It didn’t reappear for more than a thousand years, when Knights of the First Crusade found secret vaults beneath the Temple of Solomon. You see, the Knights who found the vaults believed that the treasure was too great for any one man - not even a King. They brought the treasure back to Europe and took the name, ‘The Knights Templar’. Over the next century, they smuggled it out of Europe, and they formed a new brotherhood called the Freemasons-”

“In honor of the builders of the great temple?” Madi asked, interrupting. This time, Ben nudged her in the ribs with his elbow. 

Nodding, their grandpa continued; 

“War followed. By the time of the American Revolution, the treasure had been hidden again. By then, the masons included George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere. They knew they had to make sure the treasure would never fall into the hands of the British. So, they devised a series of clues and maps to its location. Over time, the clues were lost or forgotten, until only one remained. And that was the secret that Charles Carroll entrusted to young Thomas Gates.” 

As he spoke, he opened the book Ben had pulled down and carefully flipped it open to reveal a small piece of paper carefully preserved behind plastic. 

“ _The secret lies with Charlotte._ ” Ben and Madi read together. 

Nodding, their grandpa repeated the sentence after them. “Charlotte. The secret lies with Charlotte.” 

“Who’s Charlotte?” Ben asked. 

“Oh, not even Mr. Carroll knew that.” their grandpa said with a sad shake of his head. “Now, look here Ben, Madi.” he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a bill. “The Freemasons among our Founding Fathers left us clues - like these.” he explained, un-wrinkling the one dollar bill to show the sibling the images on it. “The unfinished pyramid. The all-seeing eye. Symbols of the Knights Templar, guardians of the treasure. They’re speaking to us through these.” 

A new voice interrupted him and the children stiffened at the sound of their father’s upset voice. 

“You mean laughing at us. You know what that dollar represents? The entire Gates family fortune. Six generations of fools, chasing after fool’s gold.” 

Motioning for the children, he turned away and Madi and Ben exchanged a sad look as their grandfather spoke; 

“It’s not about the money Patrick. It’s never been about the money.” 

“Come on kids. Time to go.” the man in question said, ignoring his father. After looking at the older man, he softly said; “You can say your goodbyes.” before turning and striding from the attic. 

“Grandpa?” Ben asked softly, turning the old man’s attention back to the children. 

“Hmm?” he said softly, turning back towards them. 

“Are we knights?” Ben asked. 

“I don’t think it works that way Ben.” Madi whispered as their grandpa laughed. 

“Do you want to be?” he asked, a solemn look crossing his face. 

Ben grinned and nodded before sticking his tongue out at his sister. 

“All right. Um, kneel - both of you.” he added as soon as Ben was on his knees and Madi standing beside him. 

Grabbing his coat and placing it over the children’s shoulders, his voice soon echoed out over the attic. 

“Madison Abigail Gates, Benjamin Franklin Gates; you take upon yourselves the duty of the Templars’, the Freemasons and the family Gates. Do you so swear?” 

Without looking away from the man, the sibling voices rang out clear across the silence of the attic. 

“I so swear.” 


	2. Charlotte

“What are you thinking about Ben?” Madison asked her brother from her place in the back seat, where she was sandwiched between Riley and Shaw. 

Ian glanced over his shoulder at the young woman and back to her brother before shaking his head slightly at the odd siblings. 

“I was thinking about Henson and Peary. Crossing this kind of terrain-.” Ben replied from behind the steering wheel. 

“With nothing more than dog sleds and on foot.” Madi said, cutting him off. 

“Can you imagine?” Ben added, the awe clearly evident on his face and in his voice. 

“It’s extraordinary.” Ian said, looking out across the frozen land. 

“That’s one word for it.” Madi said under her breath as she leaned back in her seat, the feeling of unrest she felt around Ian Howe bubbing just under her skin. Pulling her handheld detector out, she turned it on and calibrated it to match the screen on Riley’s computer. After a few minutes of quiet words being passed between them, a beeping sound filled the otherwise silent cab. 

“We getting closer?” Ian asked. 

Madi and RIley exchanged a look before they both reached out and tapped the space bar on Riley’s laptop. Smiling to herself, Madi pulled her hands away and left Riley to his computer. 

“Assuming Ben’s theory is correct and my tracking model’s accurate-.” 

“My theory. Ben’s just the one to test it.” Madi muttered. 

Glancing at her out of the corner of his eye, Riley nodded an apology before continuing to talk;

“- we should be getting very close.” After a slight pause, he added; “But, don’t go by me. I broke a shoelace this morning.” 

Madi smiled and shook her head, catching her brother’s eye in the rearview mirror. 

“Riley, how is it someone as scientifically minded as you is still so wrapped up in superstition?” Madi asked, locking eyes with the man sitting beside her. 

“Superstition?” Shaw asked, breaking the moment between the young Gates woman and her brother’s best friend. 

“It’s- It’s a bad omen.” Riley said, looking back to his computer. 

“Shall we turn around and go home?” Ian asked.

“Or we could pull over and just throw him out here.” Ben added, causing the two men to laugh. 

“Ha- Ok.” Riley said mockingly back. 

“Riley, you’re not missing that little windowless cubicle we found you in, are you?” 

“No, no. Absolutely not.” 

Madi ignored the comments from the men and looked back at the detector she held in her hand. Not a full moment later, a loud and incessant beeping was heard from Riley’s computer and the screen on her device lit up. 

“We’re here.” Madi said in a sing-song voice, as the vehicle slowed to a stop. Opening the door and leaning out, Shaw’s confused voice filled the brisk air. 

“Why are we stopping? I thought we were looking for a ship.” 

Madi let out an exasperated sigh and glanced at her brother, shaking his head. 

“I don’t see a ship.” Powell said from his stop outside the second vehicle. 

“She’s out there.” Ben and Madi said in sync before the former stepped down in and into the snow. 

Giving Shaw a shove, Madi reached behind her for the metal detector and climbed from the vehicle. A moment later, Riley had the device hooked up to his computer and the two were walking side by side in the snow. After a few minutes, Powell came over to Riley and stopped him. 

“Look, this is a waste of time. How could a ship end up way out here?” 

“Well, I’m no expert but it could be the hydrothermic properties of this region produce hurricane-force ice storms that cause the ocean to freeze and then melt and then refreeze, resulting in a semi-solid migrating land mass, that would land a ship - right around here. But then, I’m no expert.” He said before stepping bast the flabbergasted man. 

Madi smiled and hurried to catch up with her friend. 

“I thought you said you weren't an expert.” she teased. 

Riley smiled and the two laughed before continuing their trek through the snow. Seeing her brother a few yards away with a strange look on his face, Madi maneuvered over to him just as he dropped to his knees and started to dig in the snow. Dropping down beside him, she helped clear the snow away and soon the sibling sat back and stared for a heartbeat at the metal bell buried in the snow. Ben pulled his water bottle from his pocket and hissed in anger when no water came out. Smiling, Madi pulled hers from inside her coat and handed it to her brother. 

“Here. Mine’s not frozen.” she said before leaning back. Ben took a deep breath and poured a little water over the edge of the bell, revealing the ship's name: Charlotte. 

Hello beautiful.” Ben whispered as Madi let out a relieved laugh and pulled her brother into a hug. 

“We did it.” she whispered before Ben pulled back slightly with a huge grin on his face and called out; 

“I found something!” 

“I?” Madi laughed, giving her brother a shove into the snow. “I think you mean we.” 

With smiles and laughter, the crew quickly uncovered the ship and Madi found herself staring in awe at the archeological wonder. 

“You ok, Madi?” Riley asked, walking over to stand beside her. 

Smiling, she nodded. “This is amazing. You won’t find a ship this well preserved outside of a naval museum. I need to talk to Ian about making arrangement for this to be excavated-” 

Midway through her ramble, she saw Ian and her brother on the deck of the ship, waved them over and she took off at a run to catch up, Riley quickly following. 

“Ian!” she called out when she was close enough. “Please tell me you understand the importance of this discovery and are going to do all you can to get it recovered.” she asked, the string of words interspersed with deep breaths. 

“Madi, perhaps we find the treasure first?” Ben asked as he and Ian pulled open the hatch to the hold and ht egroup slowly made their trek into the darkness below. 

“You, my dear brother, are in this for the treasure, I know that. But for me - which you know, it’s about history. This ship is of great historical importance and as such should be preserved-” her voice faded in awe as Madi looked around the ship for the first time. Wandering through the ship, they soon found the main berthing cabin and were soon maneuvering through the frozen hammocks. Riley’s surprised scream and gasp a moment later, caused Madi to jump in alarm and whirl around to see what was happening. Her brother was in the process of pulling Riley to his feet and saying: “You handled that well.” 

“Be nice Ben. It’s not everyday a person sees their first DB.” Madi said, a smile plastered to her face as she moved to stand near Riley. 

The further into the ship they moved the more uneasy she began to feel and subconsciously, moved to be nearer to her brother. A minute later, Ben quickened his pace and Madi felt her stomach drop in apprehension. 

“This is it!” Ben called out, running his hand along the wood. 

“It’s the cargo hold.” Madi said softly as Ian and Shawn joined them. 

A heartbeat and the sound of breaking ice later, the group one by one, stepping expectantly into the room. A disappointed silence fell over them as they found small barrels, not the gold they were expecting. 

“Do you think it's in the barrels?” Riley asked, causing Ian to reach for and break into the nearest barrel. His disappointed voice filled the air a moment later and the word ‘gunpowder’ sent a chill down Madi’s spine. 

Exchanging a look with her brother, the Gates siblings wandering deeper into the room, ignoring the exasperated actions of their companions. As her brother wandered deeper, Madi noticed the shape of a man in the darkness and took a step towards it. Crouching down, she felt her brother join her a moment later as the siblings stared at the presumed captain of the ship. 

“Now why would the captain-” Madi started to ask. 

“Be guarding this barrel?” Ben finished the question.

As one, the sibling moved and soon had the barrel in question removed from the icy grip of the former captain. Raising his arm to break it open with his ice pick, Madi hissed and pulled her brother back. Carefully opening the pouch at her hip, she removed a small hammer and chisel and began to carefully tap the top of the barrel open. 

“Preserve the history, remember.” she said to Ben as she handed the now open barrel over and looked to the back of the hold, where an odd shape caught her eye. 

“Madi, look.” Ben’s voice drew her attention back to her brother and she let out a gasp as he pulled a wrapped box from inside the crate. Handing it back to his sister, he called out; 

“I- we found something!” 

Ian shone his flashlight over her shoulder as Madi carefully unwrapped the waxed cloth from around the box. 

“What is it?” Riley asked from his place beside Ben. 

Madi let out a heavy, awe filled breath at the sight in front of her, a heartbeat later as the cloth fell away to reveal a warm oak box with three metal embossed images on the lid. Looking at her brother, the siblings smiled and whispered; ‘Templar.’ before running back to the box. Carefully opening the lid, Madi stepped aside as Ben reached out and carefully removed the pipe inside. 

“Do you guys know what this is?” Ben asked, holding the ivory object up to the light. 

“Is it a billion dollar pipe?” Riley asked.

“It’s a Meerschaum pipe.” Ian said with a slight smile reaching out and taking the object from Ben. “That is beautiful.” he added softly. 

“Look at the intricacy of the scroll work on the stem.” Madi said, pointing to the pipe in Ian’s hands. 

“Is it a million dollar pipe?” Riley asked. 

“No.” Ben started. 

“It’s a clue.” Madi added, her voice blending with her brothers. 

“It’s really creepy how you two do that you know.” Shaw muttered, looking from one Gates sibling to the other. 

Oblivious to Ian’s look of disappointment, Ben reached out and took the pipe back. Pulling it apart with a careful twist, Ben soon had the pipe in two pieces. 

“Ben!” Madi cried. 

“No, wait, don’t break it.” Riley added. 

Ignoring them, Ben smiled and said; “We are one step closer to the treasure gentlemen - and sister.” he added after Madi smacked him on the back of the head. 

“Ben, I thought you said that the treasure would be on The Charlotte.” Ian said, his voice full of confusion, laced with a slight bit of anger. 

“Ben - what - ‘The secret lies with Charlotte’, that's what Lewis Carroll’s clue says. Why would?-” 

“No.” Ben interrupted his sister's rant. “I said it could be here.” 

Madi’s frown deepened and the feeling of dread from earlier settled more firmly in her gut, especially after she glimpsed the scowl on Ian’s face. Not paying attention, she let out a yelp when she looked back at her brother in time to see him jab the end of his pocket knife into his thumb and smear the blood over the scroll from the pipe. 

“Ben.” she hissed, in an exasperated voice, before handing him her open notebook. Without a word, he ran the pipe along the blank paper, revealing words and symbols. 

“Templar symbols.” Madi said, pointing to the image at the top of the page before taking the pipe from her brother and cleaning it the best she could with water from her bottle. 

“The legend writ, the stain effected, the key in silence undetected, fifty-five in iron pen, Mr, Matlack can’t offend.” Ben read aloud. 

Smiling, Madi clicked the pipe back together and placed it back into the box as Riley asked: 

“What’s it mean?” 

“It’s a riddle.” Ben and Madi answered in unison. 

Ben grabbed his gloves and slipped them on, stepped away from the group. 

“I need to think.” he said as he began to pace, Madi leaning against the mast as she held her notebook and re-read the words. 

“The legend writ, the stain effected.” Madi said aloud. “W-r-i-t and effected with an e. That changes the meaning Ben.” 

“What legend?” he asked looking back at his sister. 

“The legend of the Templar treasure?” Madi supplied. 

“So, the stain effects the legend?” Ben asked. 

“How?” Madi asked, pushing away from the mast to stand in front of her brother. 

“The key in silence undetected.” Ben recited the next line of the riddle. 

“Silence with a capital S.” Madi added, glancing back at the riddle in her book. 

“Wait - the legend and the key-” Ben said, sitting on a barrel. “Now there’s something.” 

Realizing where his brain had gone, Madi took a step towards her brother. 

“You're not thinking- surely it wouldn’t be that obvious.” 

“Obvious?” Riley asked, looking in confusion at Ian and Shaw. 

“A map.” the siblings said in unison. 

“Maps have legends.” Ben said, looking up at his sister. 

“Maps have keys.” Madi added, excitement creeping into her voice. 

“It’s a map.” Ben said, looking across the hold at the others. 

“An invisible map.” Madi said, looking up from her notebook and the riddle. 

“Wait a minute. What do you mean invisible? An invisible map?” he asked, clearly frustrated with the bantering of the siblings. 

“The stain effected - spelled with an e, not an a.” Madi said, looking at the others. “Spelling, especially in this case is important. Both affected and effected are verb forms and their usage can get confusing. Affected, with an ‘a’, means made an impact on. It is the past tense of the verb form of affect, which means to impact. For example, Carbon di-oxide emissions affected the environment. Effected, with an e, means executed, produced, or brought about. To effect is to bring about or cause something to happen. For example, The dictatorial regime quickly effected changes to the constitution that restricted the freedom of the people.” Madi explained. 

“Or, in the case of our riddle-” Ben clarified. “The stain effected. I could mean a dye or a reagent used to bring about a certain result. Combined with ‘the key in silence undetected’, the implication is that the effect is to make what is undetectable detectable.” 

“Ergo, an invisible map.” Madi said, turning to begin her turn at the pacing. 

“Unless - the key in silence could be-” 

“Prison.” Shaw called out from his place on the other side of the mast. 

Madi stilled and exchanged a confused look with Ben before the sibling looked over that the man in question. 

“Albuquerque.” Riley said a heartbeat later. “See I can do it too. Snorkel.” he added, earning a small laugh from Madi. 

“That’s where the map is.” Shaw explained. “Like they said, fifty-five in iron pen. Iron pen is a prison.” 

“Or it could be since, the primary writing medium of the time was iron gall ink-” Madi said looking back at her brother. 

“So, the pen is just a pen?” he asked, shaking his head. 

“That can’t be it.” Madi replied, continuing her pacing. “Why not say pen? Why say iron pen?” 

“‘Cause it’s a prison.” Shaw said, slumping his shoulder dejectedly. 

“Wait a minute.” Madi said, turning back and moving to crouch down to her brothers level. “Iron pen.” she said firmly, staring at him and waiting for his brain to catch up with hers. “The iron does not describe the ink in the pen-” 

“It describes what was penned.” Ben cut her off, looking her in the eyes as realization began to dawn. Standing, he grabbed his sisters arm and excitedly began to process vocally what was tumbling around in his brain; 

“It was iron, it was firm, it was mineral-” he stopped seeing the upset look on his sisters face. “No, no, it was iron, it was firm, it was adamant, it was resolved.” 

Madi smiled and nodded. “It was resolved.” she echoed. 

“Mr. Matlack can’t offend.” Ben recited the last line of the riddle, a look of disbelief crossing his face. “Timothy Matlack was the official scribe of the Continental Congress.” 

“Calligrapher, not writer.” Madi interjected. 

“And to make sure he could not offend the map, it was put on the back of a resolution that he transcribed.” Ben continued, looking over at Ian, expecting him to have figured out the riddle also. 

“A resolution that 55 men signed.” Madi added, turning to face Ian also. 

“The Declaration of Independence.” the sibling said in unison. 

“Ok. That is creepy.” Riley said softly to Shaw, how nodded in agreement. 

Ian let out a heavy breath. “Oh!” 

“Come on, there’s no invisible map on the back of the Declaration of Independence.” Riley piped up. 

“It’s smart.” Madi said, looking at Ian. 

Nodding, the man looked from Madi to her brother and back again before speaking; “It’s smart really. A document of that importance would ensure the map's survival. And you said there were several Masons signed it, yeah?” he asked. 

“Yeah, nine for sure.” Ben said, clearly overcome with awe. 

“We’ll have to arrange a way to examine it.” Madi and Ian said at the same time. 

“This is one of the most important documents in history. They’re not just gonna let us waltz in there and run chemical tests on it.” Ben said, reality dawning on him as he spoke. 

“Ben.” Madi said, turning to look in shock at her brother. “We can’t - how? ” 

“Then what do you propose we do, Ben?” Ian asked. 

“I don’t know!” Ben yelled back, clearly exasperated. 

“We could borrow it.” Ian said softly, causing the Gates sibling to turn and look at him in confusion. 

“Borrow?” Madi asked. 

“You mean steal it.” Ben asked, looking at Ian. The look on Ian’s face spoke his anser and Ben shook his head. “I don’t think so.” 

“Ben, Madison - the treasure of the Knights Templar is the treasure of all treasures.” Ian said, clearly trying to explain. 

“Oh really? We didn’t know that.” the siblings replied. 

“Look - Ben, I understand your bitterness - Madison, I really do. You’ve spent your entire lives searching for this treasure, only to have the respected historical community treat you and your family with mockery and contempt. You should be able to rub this treasure in their arrogant faces and I want you to have the chance to do that.” 

The dred Madi had been feeling on and off all day reared its head and set every nerve in her body on edge as Ian spoke. It wasn’t until her brother softly asked ‘how?’ that the alarm bells began to go off. 

“We all have our areas of expertise.” Ian explained calmly, “You don’t think mine are limited to writing cheques, do you? In another life, I arranged a number of operations of questionable legality.” 

“I’d take his word for it, if I were you.” Shaw added, moving to stand beside Ian. 

With a jolt, Madi realized that Ian and Shaw now blocked the exit. Slowly, turning, she manueverd herself to stand behind the mast, closer to Riley as Ian continued speaking. 

“So don’t worry.” Ian added, still looking at Ben. “I’ll make all the arrangements.” 

For a tense moment, Madi thought her brother would agree, but then he stood and said; ‘no’. 

“I’d really need your help here.” Ian said, trying to persuade Ben. 

“Ian, I am not going to let-” 

“Or help.” Madi whispered. 

“You steal the Declaration of Independence.” Ben finished. 

“Ok.” Ian sighed. “From this point on, all you’re going to be is a hindrance.” he added before motioning to Shaw, who pulled out a gun. 

“Hey!” Riley yelled in shock seeing the weapon. 

“What are you gonna do? You going to shoot me Shaw?” Ben asked. 

Madi cringed at the mocking tone in her brother’s voice and crouched down to be in the shadows, thankful for a black coat, as the situation escalated. 

“Well, you can’t shoot me. There’s more to the riddle.” Ben rattled out. Madi watched with a confused look as her brother ran off his mouth and slowly pulled something from his pocket. “Information you don’t have. I do. I’m the only one who can figure it out, and you know that.” 

“He’s bluffing.” Shaw said. 

“We played poker together, Ian. You know I can’t bluff.” Ben explained, still staring at Ian and Shaw. 

“Tell me what I need to know Ben, or I’ll shoot your sis- friend.” Ian said, changing directions when he could no longer see Madi. Hearing the order, Shaw turned and pointed the gun at Riley, who took a sharp step back. 

“Hey!” he cried out. 

“Quiet Riley, your jobs finished here.” Ian said, glancing at Riley. 

The distraction was all Ben needed to ignite the end of the flare he held. 

“Look where you’re standing. All that gunpowder.” Ben said, waiving the flare in front of him. “You shoot me, I drop this, we all go up.” 

“Ben-” Riley and Madi said in confusion. 

“What happens when the flare burns down?” Ian asked, taking a small step towards Ben. “Tell me what I need to know Ben!” 

Madi watched her brother’s eyes dart back and from between Ian and Shaw. Realizing what he was about to do, she tensed and turned, preparing to launch herself towards the back of the ship where she knew the smuggler’s hold was hidden. 

“You need to know-” Ben started. “If Shaw can catch!” he yelled, throwing the flare towards the men. When the telltale sound of gunpowder igniting did not fill the air, Madi froze and began to turn back, only to hear Ian cry out in alarm and the sound of the flare hitting the powder launched her forward. The sound a bullets ricocheting, motivated MAdi to continue her crawl, bumping onto her brother as she did. 

“Get out Shaw!” Ian yelled from the other end of the room. 

“Why do you always have to- ugh.” Madi cried out, shoving Ben, before jumping to her feet and moving ot the back of the hold. Stomping on the frozen deck, she called out in exasperation

“Ben! Riley, get over here!” when her feet found metal instead of wood. Reaching down, she found the handle and threw open the latch to reveal a space below. She was quickly joined by the men, and Ben nodded in appreciation and apology. 

“Madi, I-” 

“Later, you can apologize when we get out of here.” 

“Out? How? What’s that?” Riley asked, pointing to the new opening. 

“Smuggler’s hold. Get in.” Ben and Madi said, pushing him down into the hidden level of the ship. Jumping down after him, Madi grabbed Riley’s hand and pulled him down the corridor. 

“Hurry up boys!” she yelled. 

A hard shove a moment later, sent both Madi and Riley sprawling and the sound of a metal door closing filled her ears for a heartbeat before the deafening sound of the ship exploding around them filled the air and she threw her arms over her head. 

* * *

Once the ringing in her ears subsided, Madi slowly sat up and brushed the snow from her body.

“You boys alright?” she asked as Ben and Riley sat up. 

Riley laughed and nodded, leaning back against the wall and Ben pulled her into a crushing hug. 

“I am sorry.” he whispered before letting her go. 

“I know. Next time, maybe we figure out a way to find the treasure without the help of a megalomaniac mercenary.”

“To be fair, I didn’t know he was a mercenary when we started working with him.” Ben said, leading the way out of the remnants of the ship. 

Standing in the sunlight, Madi looked around in sadness at the sight of the destroyed ship. 

“There is nothing so likely to produce peace, as to be well prepared to meet an enemy.” Madi said sadly. 

“George Washington.” Ben said, smiling as he pulled his gps from his pocket. “There’s and Inuit village 7 miles from here. It’s popular with bush pilots.” he explained, walking away from the rubble. 

“Right.” Riley said, looking at his friend. Moving to follow Ben and Madi, he called out; “Then what are we gonna do?” 

“I thought that was obvious.” Madi said, helping Riley over a smouldering chunk of wood. “Start making our way back home.” 

“No. I meant, about Ian.” Riley called out, causing Ben to stop and turn back towards him and Madi. 

“He’s gonna steal the Declaration of Independence Ben.” Madi said, voicing the thing they’d been avoiding. 

Looking from his friend to his sister, Ben smirked and said; “We stop him.” before turning and walking away. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! Hope you are enjoying this as much as I have been, writing it. This chapter changed drastically from conception to ‘paper’. My original plan was for Madi to be kidnapped by Ian, but it just didn’t work. Enjoy!!


	3. Groundwork

“Is it really so hard to believe that someone is going to steal the Declaration of Independence?” Riley asked, following Madi and Ben from the J. Edgar Hoover Building. 

“The FBI gets 10,000 tips a week.” Madi said, slowing to walk beside Riley. 

“They’re not going to worry about something they’re sure is safe.” Ben added, walking across the sidewalk towards the road.

“But anyone who can do anything, is gonna think we’re crazy.” Riley said, exasperatedly as he and Madi followed Ben. 

“And anyone crazy enough to believe us, isn’t gonna want to help.” Madi added as she and Riley caught up to Ben.

Nodding in agreement, Ben looked around before looking at Madi and Riley. 

“We don’t need someone crazy.” Ben said. “But one step short of crazy, what do you get?” he asked. 

“Obsessed.” Madi and Riley answered in unison. 

“Passionate.” Ben corrected, before turning and walking away. 

* * *

“No. Absolutely not.” Madi said, standing in front of the National Archives building with her arms crossed in front of her chest. “I refuse to enter that building, let alone ask that woman for help. I have more qualifications to do that job and the only reason they gave it to her was because of our last name.” Madi said, scowling at her brother. “Ian for all his insanity, was right about one thing. I’m done with spending life searching for this treasure, only to have the respected historical community treat me with mockery and contempt because of my family. We should be able to rub this treasure in their arrogant faces.”

“Madi-” Ben started. 

“No! Ben, don’t. You won’t convince me to do it. If you want to go and ask for help, I’m not gonna stop you. I am going to the museum, find me when she is done laughing you out of the building.” Without letting Riley or Ben try to change her mind, she stormed away. 

“Madi!” Riley called out as she stormed away. 

“Let her go Riley. She’s got every right to be upset - besides, she’s not wrong.” he added with a sigh, before he turned and walked into the building 

* * *

An hour later, Ben and Riley strode through the museum towards where Madi stood staring at the Declaration. Seeing them approach, she took a step towards the boys and asked;

“So? How’d it go?” 

“He had me convinced.” Riley said when Ben ignored his sister and stopped, staring at the Declaration. 

Joining him, Madi looped her arm through her brother’s and leaned into him as Riley moved to stand with his back to the wall, looking at the siblings. 

“You know, I was thinking.” he said after a few minutes of silence. “What if we go public, plaster the story all over the internet.”

“It’s not like we have our reputations to worry about.” Madi muttered. 

“Although, I don’t exactly think that’s going to scare Ian away.” Riley added sadly. 

“A hundred and eighty years of searching and we’re three feet away.” Ben said, glancing at his sister, then at Riley. “Of all the ideas that became the United States, there’s a line here that’s at the heart of all the others.”

Madi smiled and recited along with her brother; “But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty to throw off such Government and provide new guards for their future security.” 

“People don’t talk that way anymore.” Madi said sadly. 

“Beautiful, huh?” Ben asked with a smile. 

“No idea what you just said.” Riley answered, causing the Gates sibling to turn on him with mirrored looks of confusion and dismay. 

“It means that if there’s something wrong, those who have the ability to take action, have the responsibility to take action.” Madi explained, turning towards Riley and pulling away from her brother. “Ben.” she said after a moment, turning back to look at her brother.. “We have the ability to take action.” 

Ben took a breath and shook his head in a resolute agreement. “I’m gonna steal it.” he said softly. 

“We’re gonna steal it.” Madi corrected. 

Riley scoffed and looked at the Gates siblings for a second. “What?” he asked amused. 

“We’re gonna steal the Declaration of Independence.” Madi and Ben said in unison before turning and striding from the hall. 

Riley smiled and laughed tensely, before taking one last look at the Declaration and running after Madi and Ben, calling their names as he did.

* * *

“This is huge.” Riley said in disbelief, sitting on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial with his elbows on his knees. 

“It’s prison, huge.” Madi said, looking up at her brother from her spot on the steps beside Riley. 

“You are gonna go to prison, you know that.” Riley said, looking first at Madi, then at Ben. 

“Probably.” Ben said in a nonchalant manner, causing Madi to smile and shake her head. 

“So, that would bother most people.” Riley muttered looking away from Ben. 

“Ian’s gonna try and steal it.” Ben said, his tone one of explanation. 

“And if he succeeds, he’ll destroy the declaration just like he did The Charlotte.” Madi added. 

“The fact is, the only way to protect the Declaration, is to steal it.” Ben continued. 

“It’s upside down.” Madi added, earning a nod of agreement from Riley. 

Ben moved and sat on the other side of Riley from Madi and looked at his friend for a moment. “I don’t think there’s a choice.” he said finally. 

“Ben. For god's sake, it’s like stealing a national monument.” Riley said finally, standing up to make his point. 

“Okay? What’s your point Riley?” Madi asked. 

“It’s like - it’s like stealing him!” Riley said in an exasperated tone, pointing at the statue of President Lincoln behind the siblings. “It can’t be done. Not, it shouldn't be done, it can't! Let me prove it to you.” Riley said, before turning and walking down the steps. 

Madi and Ben exchanged an impatient look, before standing and following their friend. 

* * *

Leaving her brother and Riley at the cubicle they found in the library, she went in search of a book. Coming back after finding it, she silently slid into the empty chair beside Ben and placed the book open on the desk in front of him, smiling at Riley’s rant. 

“-Library of Congress. Why? Because it’s the biggest library in the world.” 

“Over 20 million books.” Madi whispered to her brother. 

“Listen to Riley.” Ben said to her smirking, while the siblings tuned out Riley’s words. 

“What we have here my friends, is an entire layout of the archives. Short of builders’ blueprints. You’ve got construction orders, phone lines, water and sewage. It’s all here.” Riley continued, ignoring the siblings and placing a large book, open for them to see. “Now, when the Declaration is on display, ok, it is surrounded by guards and video monitors and little families from Iowa and little kids on their eighth grade field trip. And beneath an inch of bulletproof glass, is an army of sensors and heat monitors that will go off if someone gets too close with a high fever.” Turning the page, Riley pointed with his pen and continued; “Now, when it’s not on display, it's lowered into a four-foot-thick concrete, steel-plated vault, that happens to be equipped with an electronic combination lock and bio-metric access-denial systems.” Riley finished, leaning away from the siblings. 

“So, not hack-able then.” Madi teased, winking at Riley. 

Riley glared at her for a second shaking his head, but didn’t reply. 

“You know,” Ben said, looking up at Riley. “Thomas Edison tried and failed, nearly 2000 times to develop the carbonized cotton-thread filament for the incandescent light bulb.” 

Riley looked in confusion from Ben, to Madi and back to Ben. “Edison? What does he-?” 

“When asked about it, he said-” Ben continued.

“I didn’t fail. I found out 2000 ways how not to make a light bulb.” Madi piped up, leaning back in her chair with a grin. 

“But, he only needed to find one way to make it work.” Ben explained further. 

Madi watched as Ben reached out and picked up the book she’d brought over and flipped it around for Riley to read. 

“The Preservation Room. Enjoy Go ahead.” Ben said, pointing to the book. 

“Do you know what the Preservation Room is for?.” Madi asked. 

“Delicious jams and jellies?” Riley asked sarcastically, sitting in his chair and quickly scanning the words in front of him. 

“No.” Ben stated with a shake of his head. 

“The Preservation Room is where they clean, repair and maintain all the documents and the storage housings when they're not on display or in the vault.” Madi explained, standing up to peer over the divider at Riley. “Now, when the case needs work, they take it out of the vault, directly across the hall and into the Preservation Room.” 

“The best time for us,-” Ben started. 

“Or Ian.” Madi added. 

“Or Ian, to steal it, would be during the gala this weekend when the guards are distracted by the VIP’s upstairs.” Ben continued. 

“But we’ll make our way to the Preservation Room, where there’s much less security.” Madi finished. 

Silence fell over the trio for a moment as Riley continued to scan the pages in front of him. 

“Huh.” he said after a moment, still looking at the book. “Well, if Ian...uh… Preservation… Hmm. The gala. This might be possible.” he finished, looking up at Ben and Madi. 

“It might.” the siblings said in unison. 

* * *

The next few days passed in a flurry of activity and Riley snuck into the maintenance tunnels beneath the Archives building to tap into the security. Waiting in the van, Madi completed her list of things to buy for their plan to work. Making sure to include; getting cash out and having a document tube on hand and making sure her disguise for the night of the gala was in place. Once done, she flipped the front of her notebook and stared at the riddle printed in her brother’s blood. 

“Did you get it?” she asked Riley as the side door slid open and he climbed into the back of the van. 

“Come see.” he said, sitting on a large spool of wire and plugging his laptop in. 

Madi slipped from the driver’s seat and crouched down beside him, watching as Riley’s fingers flew across the keys, she smiled when the screen changed to show the recording of the Preservation Room and the hallway outside. 

“You are a genius. Crazy, hacker, genius.” Madi said with a smile. “This just might work after all.” she added softly, pressing a quick kiss to Riley’s cheek before heading back to the driver’s seat and starting the van. 

They drove to a large hardware store, where Madi ran in and came out a short while later with a large shopping bag. After putting it in the back, they stopped for food and headed to Ben’s apartment. 

“Ugh! Ben, what are you eating?” she asked as they walked in to see Ben sitting at the table with a container of microwave slop beside him. 

“Food?” he asked, looking up from his task. 

“That’s not food. I wouldn't feed that to a dog, much less let a human eat it.”Madi said, swiping the container away and replacing it with the food she’d brought. 

Ben grimace, then smiled when he saw the steak and pasta in the container Madi had given him. 

“You stopped at Bobby Van’s. Madi, you shouldn’t have.” Ben said, stopping in his measuring of the yellow powder in front of him long enough to smile his thanks at his sister. 

“We are not going to undertake this crazy plan ill prepared.” Madi explained, handing Riley his food. “And that includes food. Oh, and that’s too much. Dial the amount back or the solution will burn out too fast.” she added, pointing to the powder and glass in front of her brother. 

Silence fell over the group as they ate. Madi and Ben passing a book back and forth, while Riley sat, prepping more computer related things. 

“Madi, what’s the password for your email?” he asked after a while. 

“Why do you want to know?” Madi asked, without looking up from her book. 

“I need to check this program. Tell me the letters in your password - not in order.” Riley explained. When no reply came, he looked up from his computer to see Ben and Madi looking at him and added; “Please.” 

Madi smiled and began to spell. “R-N-A-O-V-O-L-L-T-S-E-O-E-R-E-E-O.” 

“Ok. Top anagrams are; Aleen roo roosevelt, Alene roo roosevelt, Alonso levert oreo,  Eleonora roosevelt-'' Riley read aloud. 

“Eleanor Roosevelt.” Ben said, cutting him off. 

Madi smiled and nodded when her brother guessed correctly. 

“Let’s hope it's that easy later.” Madi said, stepping away from her brother. 

“All right boys. I’m off. I’ll see you in the morning Riley.” she said, before grabbing her coat and purse. 

“I’ll walk you out.” Riley said, jumping to his feet and following Madi from the apartment. 

“You sure about tomorrow?” he asked as they headed down the stairs and out towards Madi’s car. 

“As long as you practiced with the laser, it’ll be fine. Less conspicuous if anyone reviews the footage later and sees a couple filming than a single guy.” Madi answers, pulling her keys from her purse. Stopping, Madi turned and bumped into Riley, who took a step back. 

“Are you ok pretending tomorrow?” Madi asked softly. 

“Of course!” Riley answered, a little too quickly. 

“If you say so.” Madi answered with a smile. “Night, Riley.” she added, before slipping into her car and driving off. 

* * *

The next day, found Riley and Madi dressed in ‘tourist clothes’, walking around the memorial and museum with a video camera. After getting a text from Ben with the word ‘check’, Madi grinned and slipped her phone back into her purse. Giving Riley a wicked grin, she grabbed his hand and pulled him over towards the door to the room where the Declaration sat

“Oh, honey, look here!” Madi cried out as she pulled Riley along after her. Just bumping into an elderly lady, Madi said; “Excuse me ma’am.” 

Riley smiled and laughed at the antics and continued to film his ‘wife’ as she animatedly described all the things they’d seen on their honeymoon to the old lady. Letting her lead, Riley watched as Madi and the woman approached the Declaration and waited for Madi’s signal. When she stepped back, he flicked the laser on and aimed it at where he knew a sensor was. After a ten count, he flicked it off and he and Madi made a very loud and flamboyant exit from the Archive building. 

Pulling her large sun hat from her head and throwing it into the back of the van, Madi slipped into the driver’s seat and looked back at Riley. 

“Well?” she asked impatiently. 

Riley flipped his laptop open and Madi slipped from the driver’s seat to sit on the floor beside him. A few minutes of watching the live feed, they both smiled as the technicians brought the case holding the Declaration from the vault into the Preservation Room.

“Our evil plan is working.” Riley said with a laugh. 

“Check-mate.” Madi muttered. “Come on Riley, let’s get back to the apartment. 

Laughing as they drove back to Ben’s apartment, they found it empty when they arrived and set about putting the clean room together. 

“I was gonna do that when I got back.” Ben said when he walked into the apartment. 

“Your ID is in your bag with a tool belt.” Madi said, running a last line of tape down the edge of the plastic. “Done.” she said stepping back and grabbing a nearby water bottle. Checking her watch, Madi realized she was running late for her part in the con and grabbed her coat. 

“I’m off boys. Pick me up from my place in an hour.” she said as she ran out the door. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew! Another chapter done! Thanks so much to all my wonderful readers for the continued support. My goal in the midst of the last few months (with covid slowing life down) was to write more, however, that has not been my life. I am however thankful to be working. Please let me know what you think of this latest chapter, and I will be posting more soon.   
> Cheers.


	4. Theft

“She’s late.” Ben grumbled, looking at his watch for the third time in less than a minute. 

“Here she comes.” Riley said, drawing Ben’s attention to the door of his sister’s apartment building. 

“What’s all this?” he asked as she threw a large back pack into the back of the van and climbed into the passenger seat beside Riley. 

“Never can be too prepared.” Madi said. “Let’s go.” 

Without further comment, Riley started the van and the trio drove off to the National Archives. After Riley parked on the opposite side of the street from the building, Madi looked at the boys and smiled. “All right boys, let’s do this.” she said, slipping her large coat from her shoulders and stepping out of the van. Riley’s jaw dropped at the sight. 

“Wow! Madi, you look-.” Riley said, his voice fading away. 

“Thanks Riley.” Madi said, grinning.

“That dress looks familiar.” Ben said, a frown on his face. 

“Great Grandma wore it. There’s a picture of her in it on the wall at Dad’s.” Madi explained. Seeing the expression on her brother’s face, she smiled and stepped towards him. “Cheer up. It’s just a dress.” Then she gave him a quick hug. 

“What was that for?” he asked. 

“Luck.” Madi replied before walking around to the driver’s side of the van. “Be careful Riley.” she said as he looked down at her from inside the van. 

“Me? I’m just sitting here. It’s you two I’m worried about.” Riley said softly. 

“Well.” Madi said, a smirk on her face. “We can’t have our tech support worried. Here, for luck.” she said and stretched up on her toes. Before Riley could process what was happening, Madi pressed a quick kiss to his lips and then turned away. 

Walking along the side of the building, Madi squared her shoulders and approached the security guard at the side entrance. 

“All guests are to report to the main entrance.” he said, seeing Madi approach. 

“I’m not a guest.” she explained, pulling a press badge from her purse. “My name is Madison Appleton. I’m a reporter for the American Heritage Magazine. I should be on your list.” 

The guard nodded and waved her through the security gates. Pulling her camera out of her bag and setting it, the bag and her tripod case on the conveyor, she walked through the gate. On the other side, the attendant pulled her bag out and held out a small vial with a dropper and a bottle or crazy glue. 

“What are these for?” he asked her with a frown. 

“That-” Madi explained, pointing to the vial. “Is eye drops. I have dry eyes and need that solution on a regular basis. As for the crazy glue, one can never be too prepared.” The guard shook his head and handed the object to Madi before pushing the camera case her way as well. Grabbing her things, she headed to a table a little ways from the guards and put her camera ‘back together’. She slipped a small earwig out of the battery compartment and into her ear, then put the battery back in its place. Once done, Madi subtly reached up and tapped the earwig to turn it on and softly muttered; 

“I’m in.” 

“Appleton?” Riley’s voice filled her ear. 

“I got in a fight with dad at 21 and legally changed my name. It’s our mom’s maiden name.” Madi explained as she walked towards the main area of the Museum and began to mingle. Approaching just enough people to introduce herself and take some pictures, she was soon joined by Ben. Seeing her brother approach a blonde woman, Madi grimaced at the conversation that she was privy to via their earwigs.

“For you.” // “Oh, Mr. Brown.” // “Dr. Chase.” // “What are you doing here?” // “Is that that hot girl? How does she look?” // “I made a last-minute donation. A pretty big one.” // “Well, on that subject. Thank you, for your wonderful gift.” // “Oh, you did get it? Good.” // “ Yes, thank you. 

You know, I really couldn’t accept something like that normally, but, uh. . . I really wanted it.” // “Well, you needed it.” // “Come on, Romeo, get out of there.” // “I have been wondering, though, what the engraving indicated on the pipe that Bigfoot took.” // “Hi. Here you go.” // “Oh, uh, Dr. Herbert, this is Mr. Brown.” // “Hi.” // “Hi there.” // “Who’s the stiff?” // “Here, why don’t you let me take that. So you can take that off his hands.” // “Thank you.” // A toast, yeah? To high treason. That’s what these men were doing when they signed the Declaration. Had we lost the war, they would have been hanged, beheaded, drawn and quartered, oh, and my personal favorite. Had their entrails cut out and burned.” 

“Ben. Stop rambling and get her prints.” Madi hissed, finally getting fed up with her brother. 

“So, here’s to the men who did what was considered wrong, in order to do what they knew was right.” Ben said, ignoring the voices in his ear and holding his glass up for a toast.

“Well shit.” Madi muttered. Looking around the room, she watched as her brother got ‘squirrel-y’ and shook her head. 

Slowly walking towards the washrooms, she slipped inside the men’s to wait for her brother. The moment he was inside, she flicked the lock on the door and followed Ben into the handicap stall. He pulled the baby changing board down and set the champagne flute on it while Madi opened up her camera bag and set their supplies beside the glass. Once Ben had set the glass down, she smacked his arm - hard. 

“Ouch. Madi! What was that for?”

Glaring at her brother, she shook her head and sighed. “I’ve got two words for you. Abigail Chase. Could you be any more obvious?” 

Ben had the good sense to not reply, but went about pouring a few drops of liquid from a vial Madi handed him onto a cotton ball. 

“This better work.” Riley said, his voice echoing in both Madi and Ben’s ears. 

“It will.” Madi said softly, nodding to Ben, who slid the glass and cotton ball into a clear plastic bag before squirting in some crazy glue and sealing the bag. 

“How does it look?” Riley asked after a few seconds to tense silence. 

Madi and Ben grinned before glancing at each other. 

“It’s working.” they said in unison. 

Riley’s mutter of ‘Unbelievable’ had Madi laughing under her breath. 

“Not really Riley, it’s just science.” 

As she spoke, she handed Ben a small package and he rolled the sticky glove onto his thumb before picking up the champagne glass with his other hand. 

“Careful.” Madi muttered as she watched Ben press the glove on his thumb to the glass and pull it away - the thumb print from Abigail Chase now attached to his thumb. 

“Go. I’ll take care of these.” she said, moving to clean up the evidence. “Oh, and Ben.” she called out just before her brother left the bathroom. “Be careful.” 

Ben nodded and slipped from the room. Working quickly, Madi put the crazy glue and vial back into her camera bag before pulling a cloth from the bottom of her camera bag. Wrapping the glass and plastic bag in the cloth, she dropped the package to the floor and crushed the glass with her foot. Picking up the package, she slipped from the stall and dropped the crushed glass and bag into the garbage before folding the towel and placing it back into her camera bag. Next she twisted the top of her tripod case and pulled three metal pipes out. After stowing them under the sink, she left the washroom and headed back to the ballroom. 

“We’re in the elevator.” Ben’s voice said over their comms, a minute later. 

“Okay. I’m gonna’ turn off the surveillance cameras. Ready? In Five, four, three - now. Ben Gates, you are now the invisible man.” 

Madi smiled despite the situation and snapped a few more pictures. 

“I’m here.” Ben said a minute later. 

“Give me the letters for her password.” Riley said. “What do you got for me?” 

The sound of keys clacking filled the comms as Ben read off the letters and Riley typed. 

“Anagrams being listed. Okay, top results; A glove fry, A very golf, Fargo Levy, Gravy floe, Valley frog, ago fly rev, grove fly a-” 

“No.” Madi muttered, running the options in her head. After a couple of seconds, she let out a breath and softly said; “It’s Valley Forge.” 

At the same time as she spoke, Ben said the same thing. 

“I don’t have that on my computer.” Riley said, his frown coming through in the tone of his voice. 

“It’s Valley Forge.” Madi and Ben said in unison. 

“She pressed the ‘e’ and ‘l’ twice.” Madi said smugly. 

“We’re in.” Ben said. 

“Okay, boys. When we are through with this, you have some explaining to do. Starting with why Abigail Chase thinks my brother’s name is Brown, why she knows about the pipe, oh and Riley, what exactly did you mean by ‘hot girl’?” Madi said quietly as she walked through the edge of the ballroom.

“You got about one-” Riley said before his voice cut off abruptly. 

“Riley?” Madi asked softly, reaching up to tap her earwig. “What’s wrong?” 

“I lost my feed.” The panic was evident in Riley’s voice. 

“What?” Ben’s voice too was full of concern. 

“I’ve lost my feed Ben. I don’t know where anyone is. I have nothing.” 

“Riley.” Madi said, her voice calm. 

“Ben, I have no - I have nothing.” Riley continued. “Ben, get out of there. Get out of there now.” 

“Riley.” Madi’s firm voice finally caught Riley’s attention and he stopped his rant. 

“Breathe Riley.” she said. “What’s the plan Ben?” 

“I’m taking the whole thing. I’ll get it out in the elevator.” Ben said, his voice sounding strained. 

“What?” Madi hissed, slipping towards the exit, she stopped and slipped behind the back of a pillar.

“What are you taking- Is it heavy?” Riley asked, his panic deflating slightly. 

“Ben, status?” Madi asked after a minute of silence from her brother. 

Her question was followed by the sound of gunfire and Riley’s question of ‘what was that?’. Feeling the blood leave her face, Madi closed her eyes and counted slowly backwards from ten in her head. 

“I’m in the elevator.” Ben said after a minute and Madi let out a breath of relief. “Ian’s here.There was, uh, shooting.” 

“I hate that guy.” Madi and Riley said together. 

Drawn from her worry for her brother, Madi overheard Abigail Chase asking about Paul Brown and swore. 

“Damn it, she’s onto us. I told you, you were too obvious Ben.” Turning, she watched as Abigail looked towards where Ben had walked from the room with a concerned look on her face.. “Ben, I’ll meet you at the gift shop.” 

Without waiting for a reply, Madi slipped from the ballroom and quickly strode towards the gift shop. Seeing the basket with souvenir declarations on her way in, Madi grabbed one and moved to the counter to buy it, laying her cash on the counter. Just as she’d finished paying, she saw her brother duck in and Abigail stride by. She watched as Ben then moved to leave the store, with the declaration under his jacket. Moving to follow him, she froze when a voice called out. 

“Are you trying to steal that?” 

Oh, um-” Ben said, seeing the reproductions for sale. 

_ “Damn it Ben.” Madi thought as she slipped from the store.  _

When Ben left the store a minute later, she slipped her arm through his and the two quickly made for their exit. 

“Couldn’t leave without getting caught could you?” Madi asked, her voice tense as she and Ben left the building to Riley sing-songing ‘where are you?’ in their ears. 

“Stop talking.” Ben ordered when Riley saw them. 

“Start the van Riley.” Madi added. 

“Ben, Madi, uh, the mean declaration lady is behind you.” Riley whispered just as they reached the van. Climbing into the van, she turned around and handed Ben the empty map tube. He nodded his thanks and slipped the declaration inside, before Madi sealed it and Abigail’s voice filled the air. 

“Hey.” 

“Oh, it’s you. Hello.” Ben said, his voice full of panic as he stepped away from the van with a plastic wrapped souvenir in his hand. 

Madi shook her head with a grimace at her brother. “Get out of there.” she whispered. 

“Mr. Brown, what’s going on? What’s that?” Abigail’s voice asked. 

“It's a souvenir.” Ben replied, too quickly. 

“Really?” Abigail asked, the sarcasm dripping from her voice. 

“Quit chatting and get in the van.” Madi and Riley hissed at Ben. 

“Did you enjoy the party?” Ben asked, ignoring them. 

“Yeah.” Abigail replied. 

The moment the word left her mouth the sound of an alarm going off filled the air. Madi sighed and hung her head, shaking it, as Ben stood out in the street with Abigail. The panic and overlapping voices that were voiced next caused Madi to move towards the door of the van in time to see Ben hand the souvenir she’d bought, over to Abigail. Ben slammed the back door closed in Madi’s face and moved to jump in beside Riley. 

“Go.” he yelled as Abigail walked back across the street - calling for security as she did. 

“We can’t just let her go!” Riley cried, whirling on Ben. 

“We can. Go!” Madi said, shaking her head at her brother’s antics. The smile fell from her head a heartbeat later when a large blue food truck swerved out from the curb and aimed for Abigail. “Uh, Ben-.” Madi said, reaching forward and pointing past her brother. 

“Please tell me that’s not who I think it is.” Madi hissed in her brother’s ear.

“Oh bad.” Ben said, turning to see what Madi was pointing at. 

Without another word, he threw open his door and jumped out of the van, moving to run around the front. 

“Gun!” Madi screamed, reaching out to pull Riley down as the window of the driver’s side door shattered. “Ben?!” Madi called out after the shots stopped pinging around them. 

“I’m ok.” Ben answered as he jumped back into the passenger's seat and told Riley to follow Ian’s crew. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading and for sticking with me in the midst of my long ‘leave of absence’. My goal is to post 1 chapter a week, probably on Fridays, so keep posted for an update.   
> Also, I thrive on reviews, so let me know if you have any questions, comments, concerns or ideas.


	5. Chase

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the saying about the best laid plans...true. My intention has been to post a chapter a week, but with a new job and babysitting my nephew, life has not allowed for much writing time. Never the less, here is the latest chapter.... things are about to get exciting. :)

“I hope you’ve got a plan.” Madi said as they pursued Ian. 

“Plan.” Riley muttered. “Once we catch them, what are we gonna’ do?” Riley asked. 

“I’m working on it.” Ben replied shortly. 

“Work faster.” Madi said, scrambling to hold the back of Ben’s chair as they swerved around a corner.

A moment later, Madi yelped and grabbed for the shelf bolted to the side of the truck as they chased Ian into a construction site and the van bounced, testing the suspension. 

“Nice driving, Riley.” Madi said, once they left the construction site and were again driving on smooth pavement. 

“Oh, no.” Ben muttered a heartbeat before he moved from his seat and swapped places with Madi.. 

“Holy Lord.” Riley exclaimed. 

“You have got to be kidding me.” Madi said, staring in disbelief as the door to the food truck swung open, revealing Abigail Chase hanging from the bar at the top of it. 

A heartbeat later, the ping of a bullet hitting their van caused Madi to curse as Riley swerved to avoid further gunfire. 

“Get me close to her!” Ben yelled over the noise of the high speed chase. 

“Benjamin Franklin Gates, if you do what I think you’re gonna’ do.” Madi said, turning in her seat in time to see her brother lean out the open side of their van in an attempt to rescue Abigail. 

The sound of a horn blaring caused Madi to glance forward again, only to reach over and shove the steering wheel, causing their vehicle to swerve away from the oncoming bus. 

“Focus on the road Riley.” he yelled over the noise. 

“Road. Right.” Riley muttered sheepishly. 

Watching the scene that followed, Madi cursed when Abigail swung back towards Ian. When she saw her next, Ben was wrapping his arm around the woman and hauling her into their vehicle. 

“Go! Riley, go!” Madi yelled. 

Following her directions, Riley pressed the gas all the way and the van shot forward for a heartbeat before he twisted the steering wheel hard and they squealed around a corner and away from danger. 

“Head to the park.” Madi directed before turning back to Ben and Abigail. 

“Are you hungry?” Ben asked. 

“What?” Abigail’s panic voice asked in confusion at his change of topic. 

“Are you alright?” Ben repeated his previous question. 

“Still a little on edge from being shot at but I’ll be ok. Thanks for asking.” Riley called out, glancing back at his friend. 

Madi shot him a reproachful look and Riley turned back to the road. 

“Ya’ well, I’m not alright. Those men have the Declaration of Independence!” Abigail added, still yelling. 

“She lost it!” Riley cried out, glancing over his shoulder. 

“No.” Madi said before Ben had a chance to say anything. 

“They don’t have it.” Ben explained, pulling a large document tube from the shelving unit on the side of the van. “See? Okay? Now could you please stop shouting?” he asked Abigail as he closed the tube back up. 

“Give me that!” Abigail yelled as she tried to grab for the document. 

“You’re still shouting.” Madi said, her voice finally drawing Abigail’s attention away from Ben. 

“Mads?” Abigail whispered in confusion before focusing her attention back on Ben. 

“And it’s really starting to annoy.” Ben added with a scowl.“You’d do well, Dr. Chase, to be a bit more civilized in this instance.” Ben explained as he moved toward the front of the van. 

“If this is the real one, what did they get?” Abigail asked. 

“A souvenir.” Madi and Ben explained, at the same time. 

“Did you buy one too?” Madi asked her brother. 

“I thought it’d be a good idea to have a duplicate.” he said as he handed Madi the tube. “Turns out I was right. I actually had to pay for the souvenir and the real one, so you owe me thirty-five dollars, plus tax.” 

“Genius.” Riley said with a laugh. “Wait, too? Did you buy one too Madi?” 

Madi fixed Riley with an upset look and nodded before focusing her attention back on her brother and their unwanted passenger. 

“:Just the guys we warned you were gonna’ steal the Declaration.” Ben explained wearily. 

“And you didn’t believe us.” Riley added, sounding like a bragging child. 

“We did the only thing we could do to keep it safe.” Madi explained. 

“Verdamn!” Abigail cried out, hitting Ben and moving to grab the Declaration from Madi. “Give me that!” 

“You know something? You’re shouting again.” Ben said in exasperation. 

“Pretty sure she was swearing too.” Madi and Riley said in unison. 

“Oh, great! Now you’ve got me doing the freaking thing.” Riley muttered. 

Madi smiled and shook her head before pointing the turn off they needed up ahead. 

“I’m pretty sure we deserved that.” Ben said with a smirk as he glanced between his sister and friend. 

“No great discovery was ever made without a bold guess.” Madi said softly. 

“Really, Mads? Still with the Isaac Newton quote? One would have thought that after all this time, you’d find a new bit of rhetoric to quote.” Abigail sneered. “Besides, what are you doing here anyway?”

“Mads?” Ben and Riley asked in confusion as they glanced between the glaring women. 

“The truth is rarely pure and never simple. You told me that once.” Madi said, still ignoring the boys and Abigail’s question. . “Do you still believe that?” she asked. 

Abigail gave a slight nod of her head and Madi sighed. “Good.” 

“There is not a treasure map on the back of the Declaration of Independence.” Abigail said firmly after a moment of tense silence. 

“And there’s no chance anyone can steal this either!” Ben added, sarcastically as he held up the Declaration. “I leveled with you 100%. Everything I told you was the truth.” Ben added firmly. 

“I want that document, Mr. Brown.” Abigail siad, her voice rising again. 

“Brown?” Madi asked, turning to look at her brother. 

“Okay, my name’s not Brown. It’s Gates. I leveled with you 98%.” 

“Wait a minute, did you just say Gates?” Abigail asked, looking from Ben to Madi and back. “Gates? You’re that family with the conspiracy theory about the Founding Fathers?” she continued.

“It’s not a conspiracy theory.” Madi and Ben said in unison. 

“Per se.” Riley piped up. 

“You know what? I take it back. You’re not liars, you’re insane.” Abigail said with a shake of her head. 

“Well insane or not, by the end of tonight, we'll know for sure.” Madi said, turning in her seat to look at her brother. 

“What happens at the end of tonight?” Abigail asked, fixing Madi with a firm look. 

“We’re going to test our theory.” Ben explained cryptically. 

“You can’t seriously intend to run chemical tests on the Declaration of Independence in the back of a moving van.” Abigail insisted, her voice rising again. 

“Sure, why not?.” Madi said sarcastically, earning a scowl from her brother. 

“We have a clean-room environment all set up. EDS suits, a particulate air filtration system, the whole shebang.” Riley said, finally getting fed up with not being included in the conversation.

“Really?” Abigail asked, her tone changing from annoyed to curious. 

“We can’t go back there.” Ben said quietly. 

“What? Why not?” Madi and Riley asked. 

Seeing the expression on her brother’s face, Madi scowled and fixed her brother with a withering glare. 

“Ben, how did you pay for the souvenir?” she asked. 

Ben didn’t answer for a moment and when he did, Madi reached out and hit him on the arm. Hard. 

“Ben! What were you thinking?” she asked.

“I was two dollars and forty-three cents short.” Ben muttered. “Besides, having a duplicate has already come in handy.” 

“Yes, but I’d already bought one . . . with cash!” Madi hissed, her voice growing in volume as she spoke. 

“A credit card slip?” Riley interjected. “Dude,we’re on the grid! They’re gonna’ have your records from forever. They’ll have my records from forever.” he ranted. 

“Riley’s right. And if they trace you to him, then to me, it’s all over.” Madi continued, taking over for Riley. 

“I know. I know.” Ben sighed, exasperated. “It’s only a matter of minutes before the FBI shows up at my front door.” 

“What do we do?” Riley asked. 

“That’s assuming my brother has a plan.” Madi added, sarcastically. 

“Wait, brother?” Abigail asked. 


End file.
